Las Vegas-based budget carrier Allegiant Air has a rather interesting fleet history, having initially flown rear-engined McDonnell Douglas narrowbody twinjets from the DC-9 and MD-80 families in its early years. Since then, it has grown to rely heavily on single-aisle Airbus jets from what is now known as the A320ceo (‘Current Engine Option’) family, but, as it looks to the future, it has deployed a new strategy.
Indeed, rather than arranging like-for-like replacements from the new Airbus A320neo (‘New Engine Option’) family, the path that Allegiant Air has chosen to take involves putting the rival Boeing 737 MAX series at the heart of its fleet development. Let’s take a closer look at Allegiant Air’s fleet today.
The 737 Is Playing An Increasingly Important Role At Allegiant Air
A lot has changed regarding Allegiant Air’s fleet since Simple Flying last explored this topic back in November of 2021. After withdrawing its last MD-80 family jets in 2018, the carrier spent six years as an all-Airbus operator before taking delivery of its first-ever Boeing aircraft in 2024. As detailed in the video below, this took place in September of that year, with the model in question being the 737 MAX 8-200.
These special MAX 8 series aircraft are designed for budget airlines, and have an extra set of exit doors in order to increase their capacity. According to ch-aviation, Allegiant now has 16 units of the type in its fleet, and they are just 0.8 years old on average. Going forward, it expects to receive another 34, having placed an order for 50 (plus 50 options) in 2022. At the time, its Chair, Maurice Gallagher, said:
“[The] 737s will bring numerous benefits for the future, including flexibility for capacity growth and aircraft retirements, significant environmental benefits, and modern configuration and cabin features our customers will appreciate.”
Allegiant Air’s Fleet Is Still Dominated By The Airbus A320
According to fleet data made available by aeroLOPA, Allegiant Air’s Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 aircraft are its largest in terms of capacity, with 190 economy class seats onboard. However, the carrier’s most numerous aircraft type is the Airbus A320-200, which accounts for 84 of its 132 planes, or a proportion of 63.6%. These aircraft are 15.2 years old on average, and 78 are active while six are inactive.
This makes them slightly older than the carrier’s mean fleet age, which clocks in at 12.1 years old. Interestingly, while all of Allegiant Air’s units of the Airbus A320-200 have all-economy configurations, their exact capacity varies slightly. Indeed, some have 177 seats, while others have 180. However, the densest layout has 186 economy class seats, with a knee-crunching seat pitch of as little as 28.5 inches.
The A320’s dominance at Allegiant is reflected in its prevalence among the carrier’s schedules, with data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showing that it accounts for 6,058 of its 10,470 flights this October. This represents a proportion of 57.86%. The type’s top route by frequency this month connects Mesa Gateway Airport (AZA) and Provo (PVU), with 55 flights scheduled in each direction on this corridor.
All About The Airbus A319
Allegiant Air’s smallest and oldest aircraft type at present is the Airbus A319, with ch-aviation showing that the carrier’s 32 examples of the type have an average age of 20.2 years old. Of these 32 jets, 28 are active while four are inactive, and, historically speaking, Allegiant has flown six more.
Unlike the three layouts of its Airbus A320-200 fleet, Allegiant Air has the same seating configuration on board all 32 of its Airbus A319-100s. This setup consists of 156 economy class seats, with a standard seat pitch of 28.5 inches. In the exit rows (12 and 14), this is increased to a nicer 35 inches.
This month, Allegiant Air has scheduled 2,630 flights with its Airbus A319-100s, offering 410,280 seats and 312,378,456 available seat miles (ASMs) in the process. The type’s top route connects Las Vegas (LAS) and Fresno (FAT), with 56 flights scheduled in each direction with the A319 this month.